By Laura Collins
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Housing Task Force recently finalized a set of recommendations aimed at addressing the state’s ongoing housing crisis. The proposals seek to improve housing availability and affordability, and promote concentrating new development in urban areas.
The proposals contain some much-needed reforms to accelerate the rate of new housing development, such as revising restrictive zoning laws to allow for more diverse housing options — such as duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in traditionally single-family neighborhoods — to create more opportunities for affordable housing development.
The task force also proposes incentives such as tax credits or subsidies to improve the financial feasibility for developers to build more affordable housing. The recommendations also call for expanding state and local programs that assist first-time homebuyers with financial tools to enter home ownership.
Sustainable Urban Density
A significant aspect of the task force’s proposals is concentrating new development in existing urban areas. Dense residential development is widely recognized as the most efficient use of the land as well as the most sustainable form of growth. Urban areas are suitable for accommodating new growth and providing residents with existing infrastructure, amenities, and services. Residents’ reliance on vehicles is reduced, lowering traffic congestion and climate-harming emissions, and allowing local economies to diversify and thrive.
Sprawl and its adverse impacts are rapidly sweeping the valleys and fragmenting the landscape of western Montana, compromising working lands and natural areas. Urban densification is a key component of addressing impacts of land development, as well as affordable housing and climate change. Sprawl is inefficient and unsustainable, costly not only to the environment but to the taxpayer as well. Prioritizing urban density and limiting suburban sprawl preserves open spaces and rural communities that are essential to Montana’s identity and economy.
Implementation and Challenges
While the recommendations offer a comprehensive strategy for improving housing availability and affordability while fostering sustainable density, there may be resistance to changes in zoning laws or the introduction of higher-density developments, particularly in communities that are accustomed to lower-density, single-family housing. However, without these changes, Montana’s housing crisis and land consumption will only worsen. We need thoughtful, forward-looking land use planning for sustainable and equitable growth that meets the needs of Montanans without sacrificing the right to a clean and healthful environment.
MEIC will closely monitor these proposals through the 2025 Legislative Session to guarantee that any new law provides opportunities for public participation, protects the climate, wildlife habitat, and water resources, and provides housing that low and moderate income Montanans can afford in the short and long-term.
This article was published in the October 2024 issue of Down To Earth.
